Baker Mayfield passes Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson for rookie passing TD record
Baker Mayfield capped one of the most fun rookie seasons in Cleveland Browns lore with a significant bit of history.
The 23-year-old passed Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson for the NFL rookie passing touchdown record with his 27th of the season against the Baltimore Ravens. He captured the record with a quick 1-yard toss to fellow rookie Antonio Callaway in the fourth quarter.
What makes Mayfield’s record all the more impressive is he didn’t even see the field until Week 3 against the New York Jets, and he didn’t start until Week 4. Manning and Wilson both got full seasons of work in their rookie years.
That pass was one of the biggest moments of the game for the Browns during a thriller in Baltimore, which eventually ended on a Mayfield interception that handed the Ravens a playoff-clinching 26-24 victory.
Mayfield finished 23 of 42 for 376 passing yards and three touchdowns, but his three interceptions might have left a bitter aftertaste for some. Nevertheless, he single-handedly propped up the Cleveland offense, which had just 50 rushing yards, against Baltimore’s league-leading defense.
Mayfield finishes his season with 3,725 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in 14 games, easily the highest totals among the five quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft this year. The Browns took a major risk drafting the prolific, but undersized, quarterback from Oklahoma first overall, but they clearly don’t have many reasons to think they made a mistake so far.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Nunes ends Cyborg’s reign with brutal KO
• NFL player suffers gruesome injury while dancing
• Thamel: Houston is proving to be a complete mess
• Can Alabama can be stopped? It’s possible
